The gruesome reality inside Australia’s youth detention centres

Dylan Voller in a spit hood and shackled into chair. Photo: ABC ABC’s Four Corners shook the country last year when it revealed the abuses inside the Northern Territory’s Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. Investigative reporter Caro Meldrum-Hanna exposed to Australia’s population how children and youth were abused by detention staff. The image of 15-year-old Dylan Voller in a spit hood and shackled into chair has become an iconic image of the gruesome truth that’s been happening behind closed doors. Within 36 hours from that the show broadcast, Prime...

Read more

The role of social media in contemporary emergency management

Information sharing between communities and public emergency services agencies is absolutely critical in times of a disaster, especially during large-scale events such as terror acts, bushfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. This is a fairly novel channel of communication between citizens and government emergency services agencies and it is a two-way road. In recent years, social media and collaborative tech have become key ingredients of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. It is through the use of social media that members of the public who are in the impact area have...

Read more

Risk management in the digital age

It’s no secret that new and emerging threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, widespread and complex globally; As old-world and new-world challenges collide in today’s digital environment, it’s critical that organisations understand how to digitize their existing frameworks and transform current risk practices to reflect new threats. Although organisations have become reasonably good at managing predictable, lower-level risks, many have a false sense of security about their ability to anticipate and deal with more hazardous fraud threats that evolve rapidly in a digitally-connected...

Read more

Antidote to Community Fear

We live in a globally connected world where extremism, in many forms (ideological, political, economic, social, and personal) is a constant threat to community safety.  This is why community safety is a key priority for all levels of Government, especially when major public events occur, such as the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, the Australia Open in Melbourne, and so on.  All forms of contemporary extremism begin with extreme views by people who, in the main, fall within the bell curve of psychologically ‘normal’ individuals.  This profile fits for right &...

Read more

CCTV and Privacy

There are cameras all around us. ATMs, lifts, shops, traffic lights, parking stations all have cameras. Most of us even have a camera we regularly use on our phones. Everywhere we go there is potential that our movements are being recorded and monitored. Most people accept this as being part of living in today’s world. We surrender some of our privacy in exchange for being able to conduct our lives without needing to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid this level of surveillance. However, the information being recorded is our personal information and for those public authorities owning...

Read more

Injecting innovation into the heart of Australian healthcare

Following the approval of Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy spanning 2018-2022, the healthcare sector now has a mandate for movement to digital platforms. Hospitals around Australia are launching a number of innovative initiatives in line with the agenda which strives to “put the consumer at the centre of their health care and provides choice, control and transparency” according to health ministers. Here are some of the most exciting projects of the year:          St Vincent’s Melbourne trial of automation in microbiology lab St Vincent’s Hospital...

Read more

Putting the brakes on crowd attacks

Terrorists are looking to cause the maximum amount of harm and disruption in order to attract mass media attention. Protecting people in crowded places requires attention to the vehicle management, urban design and architectural features of a space.  This means targeting high-profile locations such as landmarks in major city centres, sports events and stadiums or indeed public spaces that attract a high footfall. While there is no specific intelligence to suggest a terror threat is imminent, the global reality means local police has to put safeguards in place where large crowds are...

Read more

Leaders gather to improve academic outcomes for Indigenous students - National Indigenous Education Forum 2017

People from across Australia’s schools, Indigenous communities and government bodies gathered for the National Indigenous Education Forum on the 18th-20th of October. During the three days, over 30 community leaders shared their stories and case studies on how to improve academic outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The Hon. Eva Lawler, Minister for Education in the NT opened day one of the conference with an overview of the NT government’s initiatives to support and improve the education sector in the NT. Delegates also heard Clément Chartier from Métis National...

Read more